On A Break
by Luh13
Summary: After the Doctor made stupid decisions involving a French mistress, Rose decided to give a break on their relationship.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm sorry for any mistakes**

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3 weeks.

It's been 3 weeks since the last time the Doctor kissed – and shagged – Rose Tyler. And it was driving him mad.

Of course, if he hadn't gotten so scared and hadn't ran away from his relationship, is he hadn't done such stupid decision involving a French mistress, if he hadn't been a complete jerk. Well… Then they would still be together.

Technically, they still were. Rose said she needed "some time to think about it", but she didn't say she wanted to _break up_.

But well… "Some time" has passed, and his situation didn't seem to have improved. She still talked to him and even let him hold her hand – he wasn't sure if he would survive if she had denied him that – but she wouldn't stay with him alone in a room, and she never looked him in the eyes. Sometimes she was a bit too cold and formal and… She was spending way too much time with Mickey, the idiot.

The last bit annoyed him to no end. What if the came back together? Would she leave the TARDIS? He always tried to shake these thought away, but they were always there.

One day, though, he got his hopes up; Mickey said he wanted to spend a few days on Earth and, as they were spending so much time together, he thought Rose would want to go with him, visit her mum and stay away from him. But, for his surprise, she kissed Mickey goodbye on the cheek and as soon as he left the TARDIS, she turned grinning to the Time Lord, asking where they were going for the day.

He quickly covered his surprise, saying that he needed to but a few things for the TARDIS, so they needed to go to Aster, the biggest commercial center from that part of the universe.

Thankfully, he landed the TARDIS in the right place and they soon were walking through the crowd, looking at those giants and colored stores. Rose was trying to absorb everything she was seeing.

She didn't suggest they went through separate ways, and he was very happy about that. She even went into the store to buy the pieces needed for the TARDIS repairs with him.

After he got everything he needed, they headed off that shop, and, taking she staying with him as good signs, he took her hand in his, enlacing their fingers together.

He let out a breath he didn't he was holding when she didn't pulled her hand back. Since what happened, he had only held her hand when they had to run for their lives.

They spent about an hour window-shopping until Rose spotted a store she wanted to get into; it was a clothing store. A giant, beautiful, full of the most varied clothes of the most varied planets, clothing store.

Have they been together, it would've taken at least 15 minutes and a few promises for later for Rose to convince the Doctor to go there with her. But, with his situation being delicate, he said yes the first time she asked.

Somewhere deep inside her heart and mind, she felt bad for him; obviously he was terrified of losing her, and she was making it worse by her actions. Not that he didn't deserve it, because he did. But she still loved him, and even if she was still hurt, she didn't like making him suffer.

She decided to spend some time alone in the store – he never gave good opinions anyways. So when they got inside, she said she was going to look for something for herself and that she would meet him later.

Feeling even worse when she saw the look on his face, she gave a quick squeezed on his hand before she dropped it and they went through separate ways.

Rose was holding a black short dress that would show a lot of cleavage if she wore it, when, suddenly, she felt two arms around her.

"That would look amazing on you." Someone whispered on her ear, "And even better after I took it off."

He released her and she placed the dress back where she took it and turned around to look at him. It was the Doctor, but… He would never do that. Not after she let clear that she wanted some time alone.

"Uh, hi." She said still very confused.

"I was looking for you." He said as if everything was normal. "I need your opinion on this." He said and brought two ties up to his neck. "Which one do you like better?"

_Oh_, she thought, _that was not fair_.

She remembered one of the ties… It was used once during… A very pleasant night.

"I think you already have that one." She said as calmly as she could, pointing to the tie she remembered from a few months ago.

He frowned. "I'm pretty sure I have none of these yet, Rose. But I'll get both." He paused. "Now, I wasn't looking for you just because of the ties." He smiled and stepped closer to her, placing his hands on her hips. "I was looking for you so we could do something very fun."

Before she could stop him, he kissed her.

And she let him.

After one second of hesitation she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him even closer. It's not like she hasn't missed him too.

"Doctor." She said regaining control of her actions one she had stopped the kiss so she could breath. "We shouldn't be doing this…"

"Here." He completed. "I agree. Let's go to somewhere more private. By the way, Rose. Why did you change clothes?"

"I- I didn't." she said. Now she was worried something was wrong with him. The Doctor would never act like that… Not when they were in that situation. "Doctor, are you alright?"

"Of course you did!" he said ignoring her question. "You were wearing a different shirt and… You were wearing a skirt. You even said that you'd put the skirt because it was more practical for us to… Do certain things."

"Doctor, I haven't worn a skirt today. I haven't worn a skirt it's been three weeks or so. And you know very well that we won't do anything like that today. We talked about this, you said it was ok. That you understand why I was doing that!"

"Rose, what are you talking about? Did you eat or drink something? Have you talked to someone or-"

"No! I'm fine, Doctor! You're the one who's acting all weird! Like you didn't remember France and- and our fight and these last few weeks. I told you I needed some time! I can't do this now! Not when all I can think about is you and her and-"

"France?" he cut her. "I- I never took you to France, Rose." He sighed. "Your hair… It's longer."

"What?" she said even more confused than she already were.

"You're not… You're not _my_ Rose." He explained.

"What- What do you mean I'm not _your_ Rose?" she said trying not sound too hurt, but failing miserably. "I mean, we are on a break, but we didn't… We didn't break up."

"That's not what I meant. I mean that you're from my future." He sounded hurt too, but she didn't know why.

"Oh." She said. "That explains everything."

"Rose." He said quietly. "Uhm, what do you mean we are on a break?"

She gave him a sad smiled. "You did something stupid… And we're on a break."

"How stupid?" he asked sounding very scared.

"Very stupid."

"Stupid enough to make you leave?" he asked uncertain.

The Doctor from her time on the timeline never asked that question, but she knew he was wondering. He was just scared that, if he asked, that would make her think about it.

"There's nothing you can do to make me leave. You're stuck with me, remember?" those words escaped her lips, because she just couldn't see him like that… So vulnerable and sad.

"Yeah, ok." He pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I do, but I'm sorry."

"We're going to be ok." She said more to herself than to him.

"You're not just saying that to make me feel better, are you? Our… Our relationship is not something from the past?"

"I promise, Doctor." She murmured against his chest. "We are having a bad time, but we're still we."

"Okay." He said but kept hugging her, and if she was honest, she didn't want him to stop.

It was wrong to be mad at someone who hasn't done anything wrong yet.

"So, when are we?" she asked when he finally released her.

"Uhm… Just met Queen Victoria."

Rose smiled, that'd been quite a day… Specially back in the TARDIS.

"We're still very recent, then."

"Yep. Do I still have sometime until I screw everything up?"

"Yeah, a few months, I suppose. It's hard to tell."

"You can't calculate how much time you spend with me?" he asked in mock horror and she laughed.

"Nope. Why, can you?"

"Well… Would that be too weird?"

"A bit. But, you know, I love weird."

He smiled at her. "I suppose… I should go. Look for my own Rose. Before she, you, get into trouble."

"Yeah, and I suppose I should get back to my Doctor."

He nodded. "But if you want… To talk to me a bit more, we can."

"No, no problem. You can go. Block these memories, ok?"

"Sure." He kissed her forehead and smiled. "Good luck."

"Thank you."

And then he walked away.

Rose shook her head and sighed, picking a few clothes. She bought them with the money he had given her earlier and then she went looking for the Doctor. For _her_ Doctor.

And she found him… Kissing someone else.

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**Review, please?**


	2. Chapter 2

**So… I'll try to update every Saturday (technically Sunday, since I always update after midnight) from now on, but the next couple of weeks, I'll have exactly 12 tests, which mean I won't have a lot of time to write. I'll try my best, though.**

**And next Saturday MAYBE I'll meet Mark Gatiss.**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

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Her first thought was to run away back to the TARDIS, but she couldn't make her body move. And looking non-stopping to that woman's back, she realized that she knew that hair… And that skirt and shirt.

It was _she._

Rose sighed in relief, but didn't want to look at that scene anymore, so she called "Doctor."

Listening to her voice, he broke the kiss and looked at her. Immediately panicking, he released the younger Rose from his grip and looked at here. The Rose wearing skirts looked in shock to her older self.

"Rose, I'm sorry. She's you. I thought-"

"No, it's okay." She assured him.

"Yeah, uhm… Sorry about this. Thought he was my Doctor. Well, he's always my Doctor, so…" the younger Rose said smiling, not sounding sorry at all.

"He's always _our_ Doctor." The older Rose corrected automatically and smiled at her other self too.

"Well, that's something I definitely agree on." He said.

"Besides," continued the Rose wearing jeans, "I actually just kissed _your_ Doctor."

Her younger self laughed and the Doctor smiled for a second before realizing what she just said.

"What?! You kissed him?"

"Technically, he kissed me, but yeah."

She loved seeing how jealous he could be, even of himself.

"Oh, you kiss him, but you don't kiss me?" he said, still sounding very offended.

"Sorry, Doctor, but you don't get to be mad at me for kissing your other self. Specially after France."

He looked at her for a second. "I know, I'm sorry."

"Why am I not kissing you? And why does that involve France?" asked the younger Rose, curious.

The other two looked at her, not knowing what to say.

"Tell me." She demanded.

"It's complicated." Said the Doctor.

"It's not complicated. It's very simple, actually. The Doctor was a jerk. A completely git, really. And now he's being… Punished."

"So that's what this is all about? Punishment?" he asked.

"Are we having communication issues? Because that's what it looks like." Said the younger Rose. "You two are acting like we were before we got together, and I don't want to go back to that."

"We don't want either. And we're not back to that. We're on a break, it's true. But we're still together. And I don't plan on changing that."

"Yeah?" asked the Doctor uncertainly.

"Yes." She assured him.

"Right, we are having communication issues." The younger Rose said, "Maybe I should go and look for my own Doctor." She looked at him and smiles. "That was fun though. And… Just because you're having a hard time…" she kissed him again.

"Well, that's what we look like when we kiss? That's nice." Said the younger Doctor, arriving just in time to see his Rose and the other Doctor kissing.

"Sorry." Said the younger Rose unapologetically and went to his side.

"I've been looking for you for ages! I have to say it every time? Don't wander off!"

"Oh, shut up. I know you were having fun with the older me."

He blushed a bit. "That's beside the point. Hello, Rose. And you… I can't believe I'm turning into you!"

"Oi! Why not?"

"You… You hurt her! And in case you don't remember, we promised never to hurt Rose Tyler!"

"Of course I remember! You don't think I hate myself for hurting her? Because I do!"

"Stop! The two of you!" said the older Rose. "Ok, you hurt me. But I'm fine! We'll go through this! In the end, things will be ok. Do the two of you understand that?"

Her Doctor sighed, "Yeah, sorry."

"Sorry." Said the other Doctor.

"I think maybe you should go. Before we create a paradox or something." Said the older Doctor.

"Yeah, I agree."

"Bye, Doctor. Bye, Rose. And… Fix this." The younger Rose pointed between them.

"We will." Promised the older Rose.

"Good."

"Goodbye, Doctor. Rose… It's always a pleasure." He said and went to her, kissing her hand.

"The pleasure is all mine."

He grinned at her before going back to his Rose, whom had just hugged the older Doctor goodbye.

"Don't forget to block these memories. From her too." Said the older Time Lord.

"I'll block 'em." Said the other Doctor, already walking hand in hand with his Rose.

"So… Do you want to do something else or can we go?" he asked.

"We can go." She said and took his hand in hers.

The Doctor smiled as they walked to the TARDIS… Things were getting better between him and Rose. And maybe they could go back to what they were before very soon.

She only released his hand when they got to the TARDIS, so she could unlock the door. She got in first and, for his surprise, didn't go anywhere. She stayed there, waiting for him… That definitely was a good sign, right?

"Do you miss me?" she asked when he stood in front of here, keeping some distance, trying not to scare her off.

"Of- Of course I miss you! Why are you asking me this?"

"It's just… Seeing you kissing me, the other me… Well, you didn't even realize that it wasn't me."

"I didn't have much time to realize that, really." He admitted. "You basically came to me and kissed me before I could say anything."

"You didn't think it was weird?"

He stared at her, trying to understand why she was asking those questions… She couldn't be mad because he kissed the other, could she?

"I… I think I wanted to believe that you wanted to kiss me. That you wanted us to go back to what we were before. Because that's what I want the most… And the she kissed me and I wanted to believe that she was you."

She nodded.

"And you?" he asked, "Did you think it was weird when he kissed you?"

"Yeah… But I let him. I don't know why… It just seemed easy, normal."

He nodded and gave one step towards her. "I know you're not ready yet, I get that. And I deserve some punishment, I know I do. But… Do you think it'll take long before we can… Be together again?"

"I don't know… I suppose not. I want to be with you."

"I want to be with you too." He said and gave a step forward so he was very close to her. "Tell me when you're ready, alright?" he kissed her cheek and left the room.

She touched the place he had kissed; cursing herself for the feelings she was having just because of a kiss.

And yet, she couldn't stop smiling.

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**Reviews, please?**

**And I'm sorry if the scene with the Doctors and the Roses got too confusing.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry about the delay! Not my fault, I swear.**

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One week passed and she still hadn't said anything.

Sometimes she would feel like everything was ok, that she could go back to him and that she could put the past in the past and forget everything. But then… Then she would remember how she felt when he rode that horse to save _her_. How he came back for_ her._

He had abandoned Rose and he knew that maybe he would never come back. He didn't think of her. He didn't consider her feelings, not even her life. What she and Mickey would have done? Stay there until they died?

And… At the same time, she knew that the only reason he had left her was because he was afraid. Afraid that one day he would lose her and it would hurt too much. Afraid that one day she would resent him and leave. Afraid that he would be alone.

But really, that was not her fault. She always tried to make him feel alright, to make him feel loved. And even if she had never used that specific word, he knew.

She was still mad at him, and frankly, she quite hated him for making her go through that, but… She still was in love with him.

She just wasn't sure she was ready to be with him again.

Well… And then the parallel world happened, the Cybermen, and Mickey leaving… And she was alone in the TARDIS with him fulltime. She still could avoid him, but she didn't have anyone to spend her time with. Which made her spend more time with him.

And spending more time with him, made her feel even more confused about her feelings.

"Doctor." She said one day when they were both sitting on the library sofa. He looked up from his book to look at her. "I… I want to ask you something. About France. About… About Reinette. Is that ok?" she said feeling stupid for not wanting to say the woman's name. It was not her fault, after all.

He nodded and put the book he was reading down, "Uh, yes, of course. What do you want to know?"

"I've been thinking about this and… You said she kissed you and that was all, right?"

"Yeah." He agreed looking at her, trying to understand what was her point.

"But… When you came back, you hugged me and told Mickey and I to go inside the TARDIS and then you went back for her. Later you told me that you were going to bring her to the TARDIS. To live with us."

"I'm sure she wouldn't live with us. She would probably just stay for a few trips and then go home. But yeah, what are you trying to say anyway, Rose?"

"It's just… Did you even think about _me_ when you invite her? Did you even think about _her_? She obviously had feeling for you, Doctor. How do you think it would be if she stayed here? One of us would leave. Hurt. But, of course, you only thought about _you_. About running away from our relationship! You say you want us back together, but I can see it in you eyes. You're so afraid that I will leave you that you don't let yourself truly be happy with me! And- How am I supposed to be together with you again, if I'm not sure if you want to be with me again? Or that you ever wanted, in the first place." She blurted out, and then she looked down, trying not cry while she waited for an answer.

"Rose. No, I didn't think of you. I didn't think of her or of anyone else when I asked her to come. You're right, I've only thought about myself and I was selfish and egocentric. And I am so sorry. So sorry, Rose. I made stupid decisions and I was a git. But, please, please, believe me when I say that I want you. I want us. And I know I was a coward, but that's because I've never felt this way for anyone before, Rose. In 900 years, no one has ever made me so… Complete. And I'm afraid; because when I'm with you I'm vulnerable. I'm exposed, and being like that… It's against the Time Lord nature. I am not supposed to be the way I am when I'm with you. But I am, and I realized that I don't want to change that. I want us to be together."

She looked up, to look at him in the eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Never been more sure of anything in my life."

"Good." It was all she said before getting up and leaving.

And he was left wondering what that little word could mean…

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She didn't talked to him, he didn't even see her after that. And he wasn't going to look for her. He knew that, if she wanted to talk to him, she would find him. Right now, she wanted to be alone.

The Doctor was in his room, lying on his bed thinking about how stupid he was when he heard a screaming.

He immediately sprinted out of his room and ran to Rose's, to see what was going on. He busted through the door and saw her still sleeping.

"Rose!" he said sitting on her bed and shaking her. "Rose! Wake up! Please, wake up!" he said and she finally did.

Rose sat up and shied away from his touch. It took a few seconds so she recognized him and pulled herself into his arms.

"Doctor! It was horrible. You- you" a sob interrupted her and she started crying.

"Shh… Calm down. It was just a nightmare. Everything's fine now. No one's going to hurt you, I promise. Do you want to talk about it?" he said as he held her in his arms, stroking her hair.

She left her head from his shoulder, looking into his eyes. "It was horrible. You… You weren't there. I remember… I could hear you screaming and I couldn't find you. I didn't… I don't want to lose you. Please, promise me I won't lose you."

"You won't. I promise. I will be there for you, Rose. Always. And I'm so sorry if I ever made you think otherwise."

She nodded and they stay silent for sometime, his hands were still around her body.

"Stay?" she asked.

"Always."

They both laid on her bed, holding each other so none of them would disappear.

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The next morning, she woke up first.

Rose smiled as she realized that they were still holding each other. She rolled over to look at him, he looked so peaceful in his sleep that she couldn't resist bringing one hand to rest on his cheek.

She stroked it lightly and he turned his head, kissing her hand and then opened his eyes.

"Good morning, feeling better?" he asked smiling.

"Yeah. Thank you… For last night and for staying here with me."

"No problem. I actually quite liked it. Maybe we could… Go back sleeping together?" he suggested. "I mean, we don't have to get together again now, if you don't want. But, you had that nightmare last night, and I miss you so much, Rose… Maybe you could go back to our room, and-"

And he was interrupted… By a kiss.

A Rose Tyler kiss. And he didn't mind at all.

"We're going to be ok, won't we?" she asked after breaking the kiss.

"Yes. We will_ always_ be ok, you and me."

And she kissed him again.

**THE END**

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**Hello! I'm so sorry that it took me so long to write and post this chapter. In the end, it's not even the way I wanted it to be, but I've already rewritten it 3 times, so yeah…**

**But, the reason I didn't post was because I had so many tests + homework + school works + school.**

**For you to understand, the number of tests I have for bimester: Math - 4; Portuguese - 2; Literature - 2; Biology - 4; Geography - 4; Physics - 4; History - 2; English - 2; Sociology - 2; Spanish - 2; Chemistry - 2; Philosophy - 1 (who cares about Philosophy, right?).**

**So I have to study for that and do my homework and go to school and do a few school works and my Spanish classes are optional, so they don't happen at the same time as the classes. And I also take English classes outside school. So I don't really have that much time to write. I shouldn't even be writing today, 'cause tomorrow I have Portuguese and Literature tests. At least both of them are quite easy.**

**Well, anyway… I hope you liked the story!**

**Review?**


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